The Weirdest Royal Pregnancy Rules From History That Are Way Too WTF For Today

Thank goodness Meghan doesn't have to deal with any of this nonsense.

Since marrying Prince Harry back in May this year, Meghan Markle's life has changed irrevocably. The ex-actor-turned-fully-fledged royal must now adhere to a whole new set of rules and regulations, from always wearing stockings to curtsying to her sister-in-law, Kate.

The mum-to-be must be sighing in relief, then, that she doesn't have to deal with any of the weird and often downright gross customs that pregnant queens and princesses were faced with in times gone by.

Alright love, want a cup of dragon's blood? Image: Getty.

Below are some of the wildest royal pregnancy traditions-- we're talkin' about drinking icky potions, giving birth in front of an audience and some strange superstition about pictures of birds. Yup.

Let's go back in time when ...

A nice cup of dragon's blood was what the doctor ordered

In medieval England -- around the time when Henry VIII was doing his thing -- it was commonly believed that pregnant women were able to harm or even kill their own baby with their thoughts.

Sneezing helped childbirth

'Magical' pieces of cheese and butter were inscribed with "strange mystical combinations of letters and symbols" and fed to expecting mothers to protect them and their baby during childbirth.

You had to stay in bed for aaaaaaages

It was very common for perfectly healthy pregnant female royals to take to their bedchambers toward the end of their term and not come out until the baby was born.

The practice of 'confinement' was to ensure the safety of both mother and child and typically started two weeks before the expected due date, but could begin earlier depending on how important the mother -- and the heir they were carrying -- were seen to be.

Pictures of animals and birds were bad

When Charles VII of France's daughter suffered through a particularly hard childbirth in the mid 1450s it was the tapestries hanging on the wall of her bedchamber that were to blame. They depicted "figures, animals and birds" which were far too mentally and emotionally stimulating for the poor princess, causing her to become distressed.

Quick, get the dragon's blood!

The ideal wall hangings for confinement and birthing chambers were devoid of all imagery, and were simply there for the functional purpose of insulating the room and blocking out sunlight. Cozy, huh?

Birth was a spectator sport

After what could be weeks of confinement and with only their ladies-in-waiting for company, pregnant royals and noblewomen were suddenly surrounded by male doctors, priests, courtiers, officials and miscellaneous onlookers as soon as their contractions started.

The rowdy crowd was there for a few reasons, mainly to look after mum and bub's health, but also to witness the actual moment of birth. Like, when the baby quite literally came out. Just to be sure that nothing sneaky happened -- this was a time when baby girls were swapped out for baby boys to provide kings with a legitimate heir, you know.

Until very recently, government officials were still required to witness the birth of a royal baby. The home secretary was present during the Queen Elizabeth II's birth in 1926, but thankfully the custom was retired shortly after.